JPH0466439B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] This invention relates to an automatic measuring device, and more specifically, an automatic measuring device that controls the operation of a plurality of measuring instruments connected to a bus according to commands from a controller. It is related to.

[Technical Background of the Invention] When comprehensively measuring various characteristics of an object to be measured, several measuring instruments are generally prepared depending on the measurement items, and these measurements are carried out via a bus. The operation of the device is controlled by a controller, an example of which is shown in FIG.

In other words, controller 1 has GP-IB (IEEE
For example, three measuring units 3 to 5 are connected via a standard bus 2 called -Std488), and these measuring units and the object to be measured 6 are connected by signal lines 7 to 9, respectively.

In this conventional example, first, the controller 1
emits an address signal specifying one of measurement units 3 to 5, and when it confirms that communication is possible with the measurement unit that receives it, it sends data for measurement operation control to that unit. or receive measurement data from the unit. The controller 1, bus 2, and measurement units are connected with one type of connector.
Up to 15 controllers and measurement units can be connected in parallel to bus 2.

Furthermore, FIG. 4 shows an example in which three I/O ports 10 to 12 are provided on the controller 1 side, and these I/O ports and each measurement unit are connected by parallel buses 13 to 15, respectively. has been done. In this case, since the controller 1 uses I/O ports 10 to 12 to transmit and receive addresses as addresses corresponding to each measurement unit, it requires as many I/O ports as there are measurement units.

In general, in a GP-IB type device that uses a standard bus and is configured in a fixed manner, the hardware complexity of the controller or measurement unit measurement is low. However, as can be seen from the above two examples, the controller 1 transmits data according to a preset program according to the operation step of each measurement unit.
The functional burden is heavy, especially in the GP-IB method, which involves code conversion of transmitted and received data, which tends to increase the overall measurement time. It is possible to reduce the burden by adding more controllers, but in this case, it becomes necessary to upgrade the host computer (not shown) that controls the controller to a higher-grade one, which increases the complexity of the device and increases costs. I also don't like it.

[Object of the Invention] This invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a control circuit for causing a measurement unit to perform a predetermined operation, and to provide a control circuit for controlling a measurement unit from an I/O port provided on a controller. The object of the present invention is to realize a relatively simple and efficient automatic measuring device having a configuration in which this control circuit is driven by the output of .

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail by referring to the example shown in the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, this automatic measuring device includes a controller 2 equipped with a set of four I/O ports 1 to 4, each having a different assigned function, for example.
0 and buses 21 to 2 to these I/O ports.
The measuring device 28 includes a transmitting unit 26 and a receiving unit 27, which are connected to each other via wires 24, 25, etc. This measuring device 28
can be connected in parallel to each bus and wiring as required depending on the number of measurement items, but the first
Only one of them is shown in the figure, and the other measuring instruments are omitted.

The controller 20 includes, for example, a microcomputer (not shown), and sends out predetermined signals from the four I/O ports in accordance with the respective assigned functions in order to communicate with the designated measuring device 28. It is designed to perform arithmetic processing and the like on the measurement data sent from the measuring device 28 side.

The transmitting unit 26 on the side of the measuring instrument 28 includes a transmitting section 32 including a transmitting unit controller 31 that sets functions such as range switching of the measurement signal applied to the object under test 30, and a transmitting section 32 for transmitting signals from other measuring instruments (not shown). an address setter 33 that holds a unique number given to the transmitting unit 26 to distinguish it from other transmitting units; a memory 34 in which a transmitting operation program for the transmitting section 32 is written;
A comparator 35 or the like is provided which compares the unit address signal input from the O port 1 with the output of the address setter 33, and when both match, controls the switches 1 and 2 to enable writing or reading from the memory 33. We are prepared.

The receiving unit 27 on the measuring instrument 28 side is, for example, a receiving unit controller 4 for function setting.
0 and a receiving section 42 including an A/D converter 41 that digitally converts a signal input from the object under test 30. Also, as in the case of the transmitting unit 26, an address setter 4 that holds a unique number given to the receiving unit 27 is provided.
3, a memory 44 in which the operation of the receiving section 42 is written, and a unit address signal inputted from the I/O port 1 to the address setter 43.
The comparator 45 compares the output with the output of the memory 45, and when the two match, controls the three switches 3 to 5 to enable writing or reading from the memory 44.

Next, to explain the operation of each part, in this embodiment, program data for the transmitting operation and receiving operation is stored in the memory 34 of the transmitting unit 26 and the memory 44 of the receiving unit 27 in advance by a signal from the controller 20 side. are respectively written, and in actual measurement, the transmitting unit 26 and the receiving unit 27 read data from their respective memories and perform transmitting and receiving operations.

That is, at the stage of writing the operation program to the memories 34 and 44, the transmitting section 32 and the receiving section 4 are
The test trigger signal to deactivate the I/
A unit address signal is generated from the O port 4 and applied to the transmitting unit controller 31 and the receiving unit controller 40 via the wiring 24, and is further generated from the I/O port 1. In the transmitting unit 26, the number signal of the transmitting unit 26 sent from the address setter 33 and the unit address signal inputted via the bus 21 are compared in the comparator 35, and if both signals match, the comparator A write signal is sent from 35 via wiring W/R. As a result, the memory 34 is placed in a write state, and switch 1 is turned on and switch 2 is turned off. Subsequently, a test address signal is issued from I/O port 2, and bus 22
is added to memory 34 via. In the memory 34, each address is activated in turn by this test address signal, and in synchronization with this, command data for a transmission operation is issued from the I/O port 3, and the data is sent to the memory 3 via the bus 23 and switch 1.
4 is input. As a result, command data for the transmission operation is sequentially written into the memory 34.

Writing is also carried out in the memory 44 of the receiving unit 27 in substantially the same manner as described above. That is, I/O
The unit address signal emitted from the port 1 and the number signal of the receiving unit 27 sent from the address setter 43 are compared in the comparator 45, and if both signals match, the wiring W/R is connected from the comparator 45. A write signal is sent out via. The memory 44 is put into a writing state, and switch 3 is turned on and switches 4 and 5 are turned off. Next, a test address signal is sent from the I/O port 2 to activate each address in the memory 44, and command data for the receive operation sent from the I/O port 3 is sent to the memory via the bus 23 and the switch 3. 44, and the data is written.

To supplement the actual writing example, for example, the test address signal "1" for the transmitting unit is output from the I/O port 2, and the function setting etc. to be performed by the transmitting unit controller 31 is output from the I/O port 3. Send command data to memory 34
Record it at address 1. Next, a test address signal "1" for the receiving unit is sent out, and the receiving unit controller 40 sends command data such as function settings to be performed in response to the operation of the sending unit controller 31 from the I/O port 3. do. below,
In this way, the transmission operation and the corresponding reception operation are sequentially recorded in each memory from address 1 to address n.

When the memory writing is completed, a test trigger signal for activating the transmitting unit controller 31 and the receiving unit controller 40 is sent from the I/O port 4, and the A/D converter 4 of the receiving section 42 is activated.
An A/D trigger signal is issued to the terminal 1 via the wiring 25. This enables the transmitting unit 26 and the receiving unit 27 to transmit and receive signals.

Next, the operation during measurement will be briefly explained. I/
When the unit address signal from O port 1 matches the numbers of the sending and receiving units 26 and 27, a read signal is sent from the comparators 35 and 45 via the wiring W/R, respectively, and switches 1 to 5 are turned on and off. The state of is reversed for writing. That is, in the transmitting unit 26, switch 1 is turned off and switch 2 is turned on, and in the receiving unit 27, switch 3 is turned off and switches 4 and 5 are turned on.

Therefore, when test address signals 1, 2, etc. are applied from the I/O port 2, the command data written in advance in the two memories 34 and 44 is sequentially read out from address 1, and the signals are sent to the switches 2, 2, and so on, respectively. 4 to the transmitting unit controller 31 and receiving unit controller 40. As a result, the transmitter 32 and the receiver 42 are activated and automatically perform a predetermined measurement operation. In this case, the object to be measured 30
Analog measurement data obtained via A/D
After being digitally converted by the converter 41, the measured data is taken into the controller 20 via the switch 5, bus 23, and I/O port 3, where the measured data is subjected to arithmetic processing.

Incidentally, FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of the preparation work for writing data into each memory of the transmitting and receiving units and the control means for the actual measurement operation. Although this figure shows an example in which each step proceeds in series for convenience, it is also possible to express the steps in parallel or in an integrated manner depending on the operation steps.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above in detail, the automatic measuring device according to the present invention has a transmitting unit that applies a measurement signal to an object to be measured, and a receiving unit that receives an output from an object to be measured, respectively. It has a memory in which an operating program is written in advance.
The contents of this memory are shared by multiple I/Os with different assigned functions.
It is written in advance by a command signal from a controller equipped with one set of O ports, and during actual measurement, the transmitting unit and receiving unit read it upon receiving an address signal from the controller side and automatically perform measurements. It's getting old.

As described above, according to the present invention, unlike the method of transmitting and receiving data through each controller using a standard bus such as GP-IB, the measurement unit can be controlled by directly reading the operation control program data written in advance in the memory. Because it is a controller, there is no need to send command data from the controller.
Communication time between the controller and the measuring section is significantly reduced.

Furthermore, the transmitting/receiving interface with the controller of each measuring section can also be shared. Furthermore, since the generation of measurement signals and A/D conversion of each measurement section are controlled by the trigger signal from the controller, the simultaneity of measurement operations in each measurement section is ensured. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automatic measuring device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart thereof, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are block diagrams showing conventional devices. In the figure, 20 is a controller, 26 is a transmitting unit, 27 is a receiving unit, 28 is a measuring device, 33,
43 is an address setter, 34 and 44 are memories, 3
5 and 45 are comparators.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A controller equipped with a microcomputer and a plurality of measurement units operated by control signals from the controller, and the measurement data measured by the measurement unit is processed by the controller. In the automatic measuring device, the controller has a first I/O port that outputs a unit address signal specifying the measuring section, and a first I/O port for writing operation control program data for the measuring operation into the memory of the measuring section. a second I/O port that outputs a test address signal that specifies the address of the test address; a third I/O port that transmits and receives the operation control program data and measurement data to and from the measurement section; and a fourth I/O port that outputs a trigger signal instructing the measurement section to start its measurement operation, and each of the measurement sections receives the operation control program data according to the test address signal. A memory in which the same operation control program data is written and read out during measurement, a comparator that compares the unit address signal with preset address data unique to the measurement unit, and a memory that The transmitter and the receiver transmit the measurement signal to the unit, and perform the above operation based on the control signal output from the comparator when the address data and the unit address signal match. An automatic measuring device characterized in that it is provided with switch means for adding control program data to the memory of the measuring section and for sending the measured data to the controller during a measuring operation.